The World As It Is

Inside the Obama White House

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‘One of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people’ BARACK OBAMA

A revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of the Obama presidency and a political memoir about the power of words to change our world

This is a book about two people making the most important decisions in the world. One is Barack Obama. The other is Ben Rhodes.

A young writer and Washington outsider, Rhodes was plucked from obscurity aged 29. For nearly ten years, he was at the centre of the Obama Administration – first as a speech-writer, then a policy maker, and finally a close collaborator.

Here, Rhodes tells the full story of his partnership – and, ultimately, friendship – with a historic president. From the early days of the Obama campaign to the final hours in the Oval Office, he puts us in the room at the most tense and poignant moments in recent history.

‘Vivid, lucid, enjoyable… A compelling account of life in the Obama White House’
Justin Webb, The Times

‘A stylish, beautifully written political memoir’
Colum McCann

Ben’s one of the few who’ve been with me since that first presidential campaign. His memoir is one of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people for eight years in the White House
BARACK OBAMA

Ben Rhodes … has written a book that reflects the president he served — intelligent, amiable, compelling and principled … a classic coming-of-age story, about the journey from idealism to realism, told with candor and immediacy … There are anecdotes galore, but they illuminate rather than scandalize … Ben Rhodes is a charming and humble guide through an unprecedented presidency … As a result, his achievement is rare for a political memoir: He has written a humane and honorable book
New York Times

A page-turning, unfiltered, altogether human look at Barack Obama’s presidency. Ben Rhodes — one of Obama’s closest and most important advisers — opens up the defining issues of the presidency: from the role of race and the rise of conspiracy theories to the hunt for bin Laden, the Syria “red line” debate, and the secret negotiations Ben himself led to normalize ties with Cuba. Insightful, funny, and moving, this is a beautifully observed, essential record of what it was like to be there.
Samantha Power, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations

This stylish, beautifully writtenpolitical memoir reminds us that the local and the universal are intimately braided. Ben Rhodes steps into the river of history and charts a course through some of the most significant and alarming landscapes of our times. In this meditation on story-telling and power, Rhodes helps make sense of the bewildering times we currently inhabit. Alongside President Obama, he shakes us out of the ruts of ordinary perception and manages to find hope in the face of most available evidence.
Colum McCann, author of Let The Great World Spin

Ben Rhodes is one of the most brilliant minds and powerful storytellers I’ve ever known. In The World As It Is, he doesn’t just bring you inside the room for the key moments of Obama’s presidency, he captivates you with the journey of an idealistic young staffer who becomes the President’s close friend and advisor – a journey that both cynics and believers will find riveting and hopeful.
Jon Favreau, former Director of Speechwriting for President Obama

About Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes is the author of the New York Times bestsellers After the Fall and The World as It Is, co-host of Pod Save the World, a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, a contributor for MS NOW, and a former deputy national security advisor and speechwriter to President Barack Obama.

Details

Imprint: Vintage
Published: 13/06/2019
ISBN: 9781784708252
Length: 496 pages
Dimensions: 198mm x 32mm x 129mm
Weight: 389g
Price: £12.99

All editions

The World As It Is

Inside the Obama White House

Format:

Buy the book from:

Ben’s one of the few who’ve been with me since that first presidential campaign. His memoir is one of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people for eight years in the White House

Vivid, lucid, enjoyable ... A compelling account of life in the Obama White House

Taut, compelling.

More than any other White House memoirist, Rhodes is a creature of the man he served

This is that rare beast, an engaging and wonderfully written book on foreign policy

[Ben Rhodes’s] achievement is rare for a political memoir: he has written a humane and honourable book

About Ben Rhodes

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